Indicating recently that getting below the $189 million tax threshold heading into the 2014 Major League Baseball season was just a ‘goal’ and not a mandate, the New York Yankees, owner Hal Steinbrenner and General Manager Brian Cashman never intended to sit back and watch the top free agents on the market sign with other teams, especially if those players could help New York fill obvious needs. Missing the postseason in 2013 for just the second time in 19 seasons, the Bronx Bombers undoubtedly had areas of need and through the opening weeks of free agency, Yankees brass has not been shy about spending.
Inking Brian McCann to a five-year, $85 million deal helped the Yanks fill the everyday catching role while the additions of outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury (seven-years, $153 million) and Carlos Beltran (three-years, $45 million) assists the club in bolstering its defensive, offensive and base running departments. The loss of second baseman Robinson Cano – who recently signed a ten-year, $240 million deal with the Seattle Mariners – hurt to a certain extent but the Yankees have said they now plan to bolster their starting rotation and bullpen to back the additions they’ve already made.
New York is usually a prime destination for high-profile free agents because of the team’s ability to contend on a season-by-season basis and even though the Bombers have improved during the offseason, one major target of the team was apparently not interested in what the Yankees had to offer. After Shin-Soo Choo reportedly turned down a seven-year, $140 million contract from the Yankees – even after the team signed Jacoby Ellsbury – the All-Star outfielder is now left pondering where his next home will be. Choo’s agent Scott Boras pulled his client out of the running to be a Yankee because he was seeking a contract proportionate to the one of newly-signed Jacoby Ellsbury.
With big name players still available on the market – including Japanese star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka and former Tampa Bay starter Matt Garza – Choo is expected to find a comfortable suitor but he may not get the lucrative deal he’s seeking.
According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the best fit for the former Cleveland Indians star might just be in Houston, where the struggling Astros are looking to build with youth and any star power they can acquire. The Astros finished the 2013 season a league-worst 51-111 but the addition of a player like the 31-year-old Choo (.285 BA, 21 HR, 54 RBI, 20 SB and .423 OBP in 154 games in 2013) would certainly be a step in the right direction.
A talented core with 24-year-old third baseman Matt Dominguez, first baseman Chris Carter, catcher Jason Castro and second baseman Jose Altuve anchoring the offense is a great group to have but a big bat and strong base-runner in Choo would surely be a big lift for a team competing in a competitive division with the Texas Rangers, Oakland A’s, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Seattle Mariners.
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